P8 Flashcards
What is the speed of sound?
330m/s
What are the three fossil fuels?
⚫️Coal
⛽️Gas
🛢Oil
(All very energy dense)
What are the disadvantages of fossil fuels?
They emit carbon dioxide (greenhouse gases)
They are bad for the environment
They are NON- renewable sources of energy
What is the difference between a renewable source of energy and a non -renewable
Renewable: won’t run out as it is not used up when releasing energy
Non- renewable: will run out as it is used up
What are some examples of renewable energy sources?
- Solar ( energy from sun light)
- Wind (energy from the wind movement)
- Geothermal (energy from the earth’s heat)
- water high up in dams (hydroelectricity)
- tidal
How do fossil fuel power plants work?
- Fossil fuel is burned
Through this chemical potential energy turns into kinetic energy - The kinetic energy from burning the coal heats up water into steam
- The steam turns the turbine because of pressure
- Turbine turns the generator on
- The generator makes electricity
What is the greenhouse effect?
The earth’s atmosphere traps the suns heats
What are some advantages of fossil fuel power plants?
Reliable
Cost effective
How do nuclear power plants work?
The same way as fossil fuels but instead of burning a fuel , the kinetic energy comes from nuclear fission reactions
What are some uses for energy sources?
What are the disadvantages of nuclear power plants?
The radioactive waste is difficult to dispose of
It’s quiet dangerous.
Non- Renewable
What are the advantages of nuclear power plants?
No green house gases
Lots of energy per kg that fossil fuels (efficient)
What is a biofuel?
A renewable fuel that is obtained from the recent living.
Eg: methane gas from sewage, ethanol, sugars,wood.
✅carbon neutral
How are biofuels carbon neutral?
Carbon dioxide is given out when a biofuel is burned however as the plants photosynthesise they take the carbon dioxide back in
Why is coal non-renewable but wood renewable?
Coal takes millions of years to form, so it will run out before any new coal is formed. However wood only takes a few years to grow and so we can regrow it at the rate of our usage.
what is the difference between an energy fuel and an energy source?
sources: use energy flows , energy harnessed from natural resources
fuels: stores energy and must be extracted
How does electricity get sent to your homes?
Power plant —step up transformer—cables/pylons—step down transformer—home (mains/sockets)
What is the national grid?
A series of cables and pylons that transfer electrical energy generated from the power plant to homes and businesses.
What is the process of transfer for the national grid?
1️⃣Power station
2️⃣step up transformer
3️⃣cables and pylons
4️⃣step down transformer
5️⃣underground mains cable
What does a step up transformer do?
It increases the p.d, this decreases the current (as the power stays the same)
P=I✖️V
This minimises heat loss
How does decreasing the current decrease heat loss?
Normally when an electron hits a metal ion , it’s energy is transferred to the surroundings as heat.
Deceasing the current means that there are less electrons in the wires, therefore less hit ions and less release heat.
What does a step down transformer do?
It decreases the p.d
P= I ✖️V
This increases the current
Allowing appliances at home to run without causing problems
What problems do high p.d cause?
🟡risk of electrocution and death
⚪️ appliances need to have low p.d otherwise won’t work
What is the transformer power equation?
P=I✖️V
Power of each side of the transformer should be the same (primary circuit and secondary circuit)
(I✖️V) = (I✖️V)